Camera Obscura

12 TODAY • Friday • December 22, 2006

We twee kings
AMELYNN LIONG

IT CAN be frustrating for bands that are always being likened to others, but comparisons don’t bother Glaswegian twee-pop outfit Camera
Obscura.
Forever linked to fellow Scottish band Belle and Sebastian, Camera Obscura actually turned to singer-songwriter Stuart Murdoch of the influential indie septet to produce their 2002 debut album, Biggest Blues Hi Fi. Murdoch even snapped the cover photos for their sophomore effort, Underachievers Please Try Harder. Having just released their latest effort, Let’s Get Out of This Country, Camera Obscura — made up of
vocalist Tracyanne Campbell, pianist- organist Carey Lander, guitarist Kenny McKeeve, bassist Gavin Dunbar, drummer Lee Thomson
and trumpeter-percussionist Nigel Baillie — are simply bored of the associations.
Speaking to TODAY in an email interview, the band’s main songwriter Campbell said: “We don’t take such cross-referencing seriously and we don’t take too much notice of people who only want to compare us to other musicians.”
The band’s new album is also one of the latest releases from twoyear- old Singapore independent label Fruit Records. “We are big fans of independent guitar pop music, so we love working with anyone who’s catchy and happy,” said the label’s co-founder, Isman Tunari. “Camera Obscura, of course, fits the bill.” Formed in 1996 by Campbell Dunbar and singer-songwriter John Henderson (who left in 2004), the band built on their following in Scotland to attract an even larger fan base in the United States, all thanks to their retro-hippy aesthetics and old-fashioned dreamy
melodies. “We have a much higher profile in the US. I guess people there just see us as being a little more exotic than people in Europe,” said
Campbell. “We’re from farther away.”
But by no means is the album title Let’s Get Out of This Country a reflection of any feelings of detachment from their homeland. “The more touring we do, the happier we are to return home to Glasgow,” said the 32-year-old. “The title reflects a more general feeling than just wanting to leave the UK. We have very passionate fans in Europe, too, especially Spain.”
While some critics claim the band’s three albums are indistinguishable sound-wise, Campbell begged to differ. “I think the last album sounds
very different from the first two,” he said. “I wouldn’t say we use any formula to make our music, that makes it sound contrived.
“We just do what we do without too much conscious thought. I’m only interested in making music that comes from the heart and touches the hearts of others.”